Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures at The Hepworth Wakefield wins Association For Art History Curatorial Prizes
08 Jun 2026
The Hepworth Wakefield is delighted to announce that Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures is winner of the Association for Art History's 2026 Curatorial Prizes for exhibitions and curatorial writing.
The winning exhibition, curated by Laura Smith, Artistic Director, and Farah Dailami, Assistant Curator, was praised by the panel for the rigorous research and archival recovery work undertaken on Chadwick’s work and life, and how this informed an effective narrative within the exhibition. The visual coherence of the exhibition, as well as the overall excellence of the project, were highly regarded by the panel.
The exhibition’s accompanying publication, Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures (published by Thames & Hudson and edited by Smith) also won the Curatorial Prize for Writing.
The catalogue was praised for its vigorous and new scholarly research presented in a very accessible way, with a variety of perspectives represented in the essays that, in sum, built up to a compelling picture of a compelling artist. The panel noted that the book broadened the subject and practice of art history in an important way.
This is the second year in a row that The Hepworth Wakefield has been awarded both prizes. In 2025, Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski with Eleanor Clayton, Head of Collection and Exhibitions, and Farah Dailami, Assistant Curator, won the exhibitions prize for Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life. The team also won the curatorial writing prize for the book of the same name which accompanied the exhibition.
Winners and Highly Commended entrants will be formally acknowledged at a ceremony and industry panel discussion on 23 June in London. FREE tickets to the ceremony can be booked via the Association for Art History website.
Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures was on display at The Hepworth Wakefield from 17 May to 26 October 2025.
With sincerest thanks to exhibition supporters: Richard Saltoun Gallery, Henry Moore Foundation and the Helen Chadwick Exhibition Circle. Along with the generous support received from V&A and Leeds Museums and Galleries. With further gratitude to in-kind supporters Atelier Ellis and Tony’s Chocolonely.
The production of Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures (Thames & Hudson) was supported by a Publications Grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
The Association for Art History annual prizes acknowledge the achievements and contributions of art curators in public museums and galleries in the UK. They recognise the essential work of curators in creating knowledge and sharing research with varied audiences, as well as in providing expertise about collections and the history of art more generally.
The AAH Curatorial Prizes are selected by a panel of esteemed industry leaders, which this year included Tristram Hunt (Director, V&A Museum), Caroline Campbell (Director, National Gallery of Ireland), Fatoş Üstek (Independent Curator and Writer) and Sarah Munro (Artistic Director & CEO, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art).
